Samuel Minowitz
Born: Russia, 1861
Died: Denver, June 25, 1930
Frieda Minowitz [1]
Born: Russia, 1868
Died: Denver, August 13, 1940
Michael Minowitz
Born:
Died:
Louis Minowitz
Born: Dodge City, Kansas, March 8, 1886
Died: Denver, February 17, 1953
Isadore Minowitz
Born:
Died:
Samuel and Frieda Minowitz came to the United States in the 1880s. They first arrived in Leadville from Dodge City, Kansas [2] in 1906 where Sam found employment as manager of The Hub Shoe & Clothing Company located at 317-319 Harrison Avenue and set up the family home at 318 W. 4th Street. [3]
Isadore was a member of the Leadville High School baseball team [4] and the Leadville High School Castilian Club [5] which on the evening of April 6, 1907 met to debate whether or not United States Senators should be elected by popular vote. The students resolved in a 9 to 5 vote that this should be the method by which representatives ascend to office. It was noted by the Herald Democrat newspaper that: “…Isadore thought that a change in the constitution was necessary to secure the exemption of graft while the girls claimed that if the constitution was good twenty years ago it was now. Quite an argument took place before it was decided.” [6]
In 1909, Michael was elected treasurer of Leadville’s Eagle Athletic Club. [7] Sam was part of a welcoming committee for a one hundred-person delegation from the Colorado Manufacturer’s Association who visited Leadville on September 27. [8] The Minowitz family was related to the Cohns, [9] both families having originated in Russia. [10] Sam and Rebecca Cohn, nephew and niece of Frieda and Samuel, would stay with the Minowitzes on their return visits to Leadville after the Cohn family relocated to Glenwood Springs, CO. [11] Sam appears to have been the victim of a forgery scam perpetrated upon him by B. S. Levin and the following account of the incident appeared in the November 9 edition of the Herald Democrat newspaper:
Lively Levin Leaves
Numerous Creditors Want To See Him- Also Victims Of Worthless Checks
Again Leadville merchants have been victimized by a worthless check artist, and instead of being a rare occurrence in this city the passing of bad checks seems to have developed lately into a thriving and lucrative industry at the expense of local business men.
The latest operative in this connection is B. S. Levin, until yesterday employed by the Leadville Light and Power company who on Saturday night and Sunday Morning passed two worthless checks amounting to about $70, one on E. C. Greene, manager of the Vendome Hotel and the other on Sam Minowitz, proprietor of the Hub Clothing store.
Levin left Leadville early yesterday morning ostensibly for Denver where he told some speaking acquaintances, his father, a resident of Pittsburgh, Pa., was to meet him. Levin, however, told his employers nothing of his intended departure and, on his failure to report for duty yesterday morning inquiries were made at the Vendome where he had apartments regarding him.
Manager Greene then became suspicious and immediately sent the check to the Carbonate National Bank where it was pronounced worthless. It was made out to Levin himself and signed “S. J. O’Toole”.
Later in the day when Mr. Minowitz attempted to have the check tendered to him by Levin cashed he was also told that he had been victimized. The check proffered to Mr. Minowitz was made out to “A. J. Little” and signed as was the one in possession of Mr. Greene, “S. J. O’Toole. The endorsement “A. J. Little” appeared on the back of the check but the writing in both cases bears a close resemblance to the handwriting of Levin… [12]
The last mention of the Minowitz family in Leadville was a $2.00 payment made to Michael by the county commissioners in March of 1910 for his jury service in December of 1909. [13] Because of the nomadic nature of the family from their arrival in the United States they escape enumeration in census records until 1920. [14] Samuel, Michael, and Louis established themselves in Denver during 1910 where Samuel and Louis began working for the Model Shoe Company and Michael worked as a window trimmer for the Lawrence Cigar & Importing Company. The new family residence was at 1411 9th Avenue, and Michael found lodging at his place of employment located at 2617 Welton Street. [15] Samuel, Frieda, and Louis remained in Denver for the duration of their lives and are interred in the Minowitz family plot in the Emmanuel section of the Fairmount cemetery there. [16]
1 Year: 1920; Census Place: Denver, Denver, Colorado; Roll: T625_162; Page: 3A; Enumeration District: 25.
2 JewishGen, comp. JewishGen Online Worldwide Burial Registry (JOWBR) [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2008.
3 JH Ballenger and Richards. Ballenger & Richard’s Twenty-Seventh Annual City Directory: Containing a Complete List of the Inhabitants, Institutions, Incorporated Companies, Manufacturing Establishments, Business, Business Firms etc. in The City of Leadville for 1906. (Leadville, CO: Ballenger and Richards Publishers. 1906). P241.
4 Around The City. (Leadville, CO: Herald Democrat. April 24, 1909). P5.
5 “Castilian” has often been used historically to describe articles of Spanish origin. In this context it is likely in reference to the high school Spanish club.
6 Public School Column. (Leadville, CO: Herald Democrat. April 7, 1907). P2.
7 Eagle A.C. Elects Officers. (Leadville, CO: Herald Democrat. June 2, 1909). P5.
8 Meeting Called This Morning. (Leadville, CO. Herald Democrat. September 27, 1909). P3.
9 For more information on the Cohn family, please visit: http://www.jewishleadville.org/cohn.html
10 Matt Hulstine and Jeffrey P. Grant. Cohn. (Leadville, CO: Temple Israel Foundation. 2018).
11 Personal Mention. (Leadville, CO: Herald Democrat. October 17, 1909). P10. and also: Personal Mention. (Leadville, CO: Herald Democrat. June 7, 1907). P8.
12 Lively Levin Leaves. (Leadville, CO: Herald Democrat. November 9, 1909). P3.
13 Public Notice. (Leadville, CO: Herald Democrat. March 10, 1910). P6.
14 Year: 1920; Census Place: Denver, Denver, Colorado; Roll: T625_162; Page: 3A; Enumeration District: 251
15 TB Corbett and JH Ballenger. Corbet, and Ballenger’s Thirty-ninth Annual City Directory: Containing a Complete List of the Inhabitants, Institutions, Incorporated Companies, Manufacturing Establishments, Business, Business Firms etc. in The City Of Denver for 1911. (Denver, CO: Ballenger Publishers. 1911). P1034.
16 Find A Grave Index. Database. Family Search Samuel Minowitz, 1930; Burial, Denver, Denver, Colorado, United States of America, Congregation Emanuel Cemetery; (citing record ID 172149027, Find a Grave, http://www.findagrave.com).
Bibliography
Around The City. Leadville, CO: Herald Democrat. April 24, 1909.
Ballenger, JH and Richards. Ballenger & Richard’s Twenty-Seventh Annual City Directory: Containing a Complete List of the Inhabitants, Institutions, Incorporated Companies, Manufacturing Establishments, Business, Business Firms etc. in The City of Leadville for 1906. Leadville, CO: Ballenger and Richards Publishers.1906.
Ballenger, JH and Richards. Ballenger & Richard’s Twenty-Eighth Annual City Directory: Containing a Complete List of the Inhabitants, Institutions, Incorporated Companies, Manufacturing Establishments, Business, Business Firms etc. in The City of Leadville for 1907. Leadville, CO: Ballenger and Richards Publishers. 1907.
Ballenger, JH and Richards. Ballenger & Richard’s Twenty-Ninth Annual City Directory: Containing a Complete List of the Inhabitants, Institutions, Incorporated Companies, Manufacturing Establishments, Business, Business Firms etc. in The City of Leadville for 1908. Leadville, CO: Ballenger and Richards Publishers.1908.
Ballenger, JH and Richards. Ballenger & Richard’s Thirtieth Annual City Directory: Containing a Complete List of the Inhabitants, Institutions, Incorporated Companies, Manufacturing Establishments, Business, Business Firms etc. in The City of Leadville for 1909. Leadville, CO: Ballenger and Richards Publishers.1909.
Ballenger, JH and Richards. Ballenger & Richard’s Thrity-First Annual City Directory: Containing a Complete List of the Inhabitants, Institutions, Incorporated Companies, Manufacturing Establishments, Business, Business Firms etc. in The City of Leadville for 1910. Leadville, CO: Ballenger and Richards Publishers.1910.
Corbett, TB and Ballanger, JH. Corbet, and Ballenger’s Thirty-ninth Annual City Directory: Containing A Complete List Of The Inhabitants, Institutions, Incorporated Companies, Manufacturing Establishments, Business, Business Firms Etc. In The City Of Denver For 1911. Denver, CO: Corbet and Ballenger Publishers.1911.
Eagle A.C. Elects Officers. Leadville, CO: Herald Democrat. June 2, 1909.
Find A Grave Index. Database. Family Search Samuel Minowitz, 1930; Burial, Denver, Denver, Colorado, United States of America, Congregation Emanuel Cemetery; (citing record ID 172149027, Find a Grave, http://www.findagrave.com).
Hulstine, Matt and Grant, Jeffrey P. Cohn. Leadville, CO: Temple Israel Foundation. 2018.
JewishGen, comp. JewishGen Online Worldwide Burial Registry (JOWBR) [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2008.
Lively Levin Leaves. Leadville, CO: Herald Democrat. November 9, 1909.
Meeting Called This Morning. Leadville, CO. Herald Democrat. September 27, 1909.
Personal Mention. Leadville, CO: Herald Democrat. June 7, 1907.
Personal Mention. Leadville, CO: Herald Democrat. October 17, 1909.
Public Notice. Leadville, CO: Herald Democrat. March 10, 1910.
Public School Column. Leadville, CO: Herald Democrat. April 7, 1907.
Year: 1920; Census Place: Denver, Denver, Colorado; Roll: T625_162; Page: 3A; Enumeration District: 25.
To cite any of the information in this biography, please use the following reference.
AUTHOR: Jeffrey P. Grant
EDITOR: William Korn
SOURCE: Jewish Surnames/Minowitz
PUBLISHED BY: Temple Israel Foundation. Leadville, CO; USA. 2019.
STABLE URL: http://www.jewishledville.org/minowitz.html
